A Reading that will Never go Viral

So here's me reading as Tammy Owen from House of Goats. I want to go into Muppet Show mode and continue that with "the continuing stooory of a quack who's gone to the dogs." (From Veterinary Hospital: here's an example.) Or in my case a suburban mom who's gone to the goats.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24pmoRe-H2U

I tried to embed this video, but apparently the software can't find me. Ugh.  I'll try to add it later.

The Divided Mind by J. Sarno

My DH and I are going to be at Norwescon 37. I hope we'll see a bunch of you there!

For once, I'm not overbooked. I'll have plenty of time to visit with folks. I expect I'll be spending a lot of time at the NIWA (Northwest Independent Writer's Association) table and possibly some time at barcon. I'm a bit of a foodie so if anyone has a suggestion for fantastic food around the SeaTac area, let me know.

Otherwise I'm assuming that I'm going to relax, do some writing, go to some panels, periodically sit in a hot tub, do some reading, and visit with friends.

Speaking of reading, I'm currently being blown away by "The Divided Mind" by John E. Sarno (which looks like Samo in the current font I'm seeing it ... see the whining in my last post for more rant-astastic information on this topic.) It explains a lot about the state of the physical and emotional health of, well, pretty much everyone in the western world right now. I firmly believe that not enough people get help for their mental and emotional problems and I think that this is in part because there's not a lot of quality care available, or maybe people just have trouble finding it or funding it.

I think a good indicator of whether or not a mental health specialist is worth the research, referral (if necessary,) time and expense is if they make things better within a finite period of time. And that may be what's going on with the majority of cases, but the public perception, or at least my perception and I don't think I'm alone, is that it takes years to work out your problems with your upbringing, and that puts the expense both in funding and time out of reach of just about everyone I know. What I like about this book is that the author addresses a problem and puts it in perspective. He then lays out a blueprint for how to deal with this problem, and what it's going to take. If all is as he presents it, then his methods are easily accessible, take a relatively short period of time to bring relief, and isn't going to rob you and your family of valuable resources forever. If the average person believed that this was what they could expect from a mental health program, I think most of them would sign up.

If. If they knew that the problems they're experiencing are mental rather than physical, and it seems that many of the problems we're facing, including lower back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, dare I suggest planar fasciitis, GERD, etc. may in fact be caused by a rather insidious mechanism triggered by the subconscious. It's actually been recorded and studied for over a hundred years. And yet psychosomatic illness is what happens to the other guy, or to the hypochondriac, not to, well, everyone. Really. It's, like, normal to have psychosomatic stuff going on. I should have figured this out. I had horrible dizzy spells that stopped me from going to school. No cause was ever found. And when I stopped going to school and we finished moving and things settled down, so did my dizzy spells.

Normal. It's not dumb, or a deficiency. It's a coping mechanism. And like a lot of coping mechanisms, sometimes it's worse than what it's trying to help us cope with or get through.

This book makes me happy. It's hard for me to contain my enthusiasm and delight. I feel I need to, though. I can't foist this on people who I think might need it. I can't wish stigmas away. If I could, then yes, I could go to people and say, oh, oh, you have to borrow this book from me and read it right away because it might help you! and they won't feel like I've just slapped them in the face and called them crazy and dumb and on top of it intruded into their private life.

Sometimes social stuff makes me crazy. Sometimes I really want to open my brain to someone else and let them see that all the things they might imagine that I believe about them isn't true. Sometimes I wish I could turn off the feeling that people assume things about me, because chances are they're thinking about the latest awesome You Tube video and don't give a crap about what I think about them. All that can help us be nice to each other and polite and kind and considerate, but it also can be an excuse to not say what we really want to say and it keeps us from telling the truth. Not the mean truth, but the scary truth, the real truth, the truth that exposes ourselves as much as it exposes the person we're speaking to.

Anyway, I'm only halfway through the book, but so far, I can definitely recommend it. The style is repetitive, but I suspect that's because the author is accustomed to disbelief and denial. Be prepared to be amazed.

Full of Books

I need a new bookshelf to hold proof copies, graphic design and typography books.

That's really kind of awesome. I like that. A lot.

I love books enough that I have given up the idea of living in a home where the weight and volume restrictions on stuff is severely limited.

Yes, I know, I can have them on a Kindle ... and yet, I still rely heavily on the ability to flip through a reference book. I run my fingers along the pages and watch those colors and the text go by, and mysteriously my brain connects with what I need and stops me within a few pages of exactly what I want. Also, as my vision gets worse, I depend on those larger surface areas. Yes, I can zoom in using a Kindle, but I lose the area of words, the big picture. Specifically with graphic design books and non-fiction in general, the bulk of what I read, I need to have that broader view of the book in a format that's larger than even the biggest pads I've seen. A computer screen comes the closest to the size I like. Mine is 9" high--the size I'd need to view an open spread on a 6x9 book. For larger books on art, graphic design, architecture, etc. my computer screen is much, much too small. Fiction is much more flexible. I could easily see having my whole fiction library on a Kindle or iPad with no issues. But non-fiction ....

I think that one thing that will be a challenge to future book designers will be to rethink and redesign non-fiction from the ground up so that they can present the amount of information that they now are able to transmit in a physical book. Most people aren't aware of how columns, sidebars, images, graphs, illustrations, different styles of type and white space all contribute to feeding information into the human brain. When the way all these things interact is severely space-restricted, and a full open-book spread isn't available except in a tiny size ... yeah. I don't think the answer is necessarily larger device sizes (which will affect their cost and portability.) I think a combination of the way we learn to look at books from infancy through adulthood and the way books are put together will have to change. I believe I'm too old to relearn how I glean information from the page. So for people my age, it falls to the designers to bring the mountain to us.

Already, great strides have been made in book design and information impartation. Smart phones, web site design and rich communication formats have come a long way. My own websites are sad, primitive creatures that could use some TLC from someone who knows what they're doing (and who can manipulate more complex and innovative software than I know how to use) to take advantage of everything our information age has to offer. I have some fun ideas, but I can't make them into reality, and I don't have the time or money to devote to that project (yet). Soon, maybe ....

Speaking of time, it's time to get back to work (on my day off). Some days I think about retiring ... and how much work I can get caught up on when I do. Do people ever really catch up on work?

Probably not. I know I probably won't ever catch up. My work defines who I am, and like my writing and book designs, that work keeps evolving just like the world that's evolving all around and with us.

End of a 244 Year Era!

I heard on the radio this morning that Encyclopedia Britannica has published its last print issue this year, and then, no more. We'll still have it online, of course ...

I bet this last year's edition will become a collector's edition, and that they'll sell buckets of them.

It's a 244 year tradition. I look at that number and think, couldn't they have held out for 250? But with sales reported as being around 8000 last year, I don't think they could afford it.

There we have it, folks. A sign of the end of print books? I don't think so, but print magazines, journals, and yes, dictionaries and encyclopedias, may become casualties of this brave new age.

OMG, I really, really need to save my pennies and buy a copy of the Oxford English Dictionary quick, before they stop printing them! I have a beautiful abridged one that I adore. It's huge, with tiny print and thin pages and it has oodles and oodles of wonderful words in it and sometimes I read it for entertainment.

Just like people used to take a random volume off the shelf and read the Encyclopedia Britannica in their living room for entertainment. Alas! But it will continue, only with an ebook and the person's preferred hot beverage set below the screen level to avoid accidents.

Smashwords Promotion

To celebrate Read an E-Book Month, many Smashwords authors (including me) are offering special deals on their books. To get 75% off of House of Goats or Masks, enter the code REW75 (as far as I know this is case sensitive) before checkout! The coupon is only valid from March 4 (midnight tonight!) until 11:59pm on March 10th, 2012. I encourage you to visit Smashwords to see other great deals. I hear that there will be quite a few books offered for free!

Finished a Book, Wrote a Lot. Good Times.

I've been writing for most of the day.  This is a good thing, but it's physically demanding for someone who is accustomed to standing for the length of a working day.  It's also really, really not good for me.  I've been snacking more than I usually do, too, which does not help.

In the new stuff category, I read a really kewl book.  And yes, I know, it wasn't on my reading pile but I sometimes add to my reading pile without finishing what I've got.  (Ahem.)  And start reading the new stuff before I finish the old stuff.  (Ahem ahem.)

Highly recommended:  Food Rules:  An Eater's Manual.  One of my DH's awesome friends gave him a copy.  Don't let the mere four star out of 320 reviews fool you.  I'd give this one five stars.  And yes, I may quibble about some of the minor details, but they aren't important.  What is important is the message and the way that message is very easily digested.  Unfortunately it has more than five ingredients, but remember, moderation in all things, including moderation.

I'm working on a book cover as well.  I think I've got more than two full time jobs going here.  Will the universe kindly slow down so that I can finish some stuff and gain some ground on my to-do list?

You will!?!  Really?!!  Sweet!!

I'm going to get some work done while the getting is good!

Currently On My Bathroom Bookshelf

What I'm reading right now:

The Godforsaken Sea

I've just started this gem of a book, partially for research but partially because I'm just a wee bit obsessed with the sea and sailing.  If I was really, really obsessed I'd be sailing right now and hardly anyone would hear from me, but I'd rather be writing and gardening (though doing those things near enough to the ocean to go play in and on the waves daily would be ideal.)  Anyway, the author is doing a great job so far of trying to explain to landlubbers why the Southern Ocean is so friggin' dangerous.  I've never been very far from the shore--out of sight of shore, but still pretty darned close.  I've also sailed in a notorious boat-eating area where we lost a kayak we were towing to some pretty powerful wave action.  So I have a basis of comparison.  I'm not sure that someone who hasn't been on a boat small enough to be overshadowed by a waves and completely surrounded by water with no sign of land can get it.  If you're one of those folks, I'd be curious to hear if this book would do it for you.  He's already referred to my favorite-est book on the subject, Heavy Weather Sailing.  Wee!

The Murderer Next Door

I'm poaching when I read this book.  I have a habit of picking up stuff that my DH is reading and then getting sucked in.  Every time I read a book about crime and human nature that starts to break the barriers between what we think criminals think and do vs. what they actually think and do, I can't help but get the feeling that our legal system is screwed up.  I think the checks and balances work okay, but the actual laws and stuff--it's like trying to run a space program using only Newtonian physics, a 1950's machinist shop and a bank of calculators.  You can hobble along, but it becomes impossible and overwhelming very quickly.  Anyway, this book is no different in that regard.  Where it is different from other books I've read on this stuff is how it connects murder back to me, personally.  Some of the insights so far are depressing, but most are extremely enlightening.  This might end up on my list of highly recommended books.  We'll see how it pans out.

Lieutenant Hornblower

'Cause I need some salt sea in my veins.  Always good to remember each ship is a small community connected to a larger community of many ships, and that gets political fast, and that's without taking the navy stuff into account.  I'm loving the way the author uses characters to describe his protagonist in extremely immodest ways.  After reading more subtle prose for a long time, it's a lot like having someone shout in my face that I must love this character he's so awesome!  I don't care, though.  The story is good, and besides, reading prose like this is it's own fun.  Just like I enjoy a really broad range of music, I enjoy a broad range of writing styles.

The Vegetarian Myth

Talk about courage.  A former vegetarian (20 years of the life choice, so we're not talking someone who dipped their toes in) exposes her throat and her research on what plant-based dietary choices actually do to the planet, with an occasional mention of what it does to the human body long-term.  (I had no idea there are doctors that specialize in treating former vegans.)  I know that just the idea of this book will earn her death threats and the undying hatred of lots and lots of people, and yet she wrote it.  Bravo.  Also, unbelievably fascinating.  I haven't checked up on her research so I can't comment on that, and sometimes her feminist views set me back on my heels a bit (and I consider myself a feminist--but yowza!) but I'm not caring about the details and whether she's right or wrong on a given point.  I'm not trying to save my friends, or even save the planet, though I care deeply about both and take care of them the best I can.  Nor am I trying to prove or disprove anything to anyone.  It's just an incredibly entertaining book.  It can be mind-bending, in a good way, to read a call to arms in the name of environmentalism to start eating responsibly-raised meat.  It's also a scathing criticism of current agricultural methods, including so-called organic agriculture.  Another potential book for my list of highly recommended books.  

I've also got a couple of technical manuals on gardening that I'm paging through, a book on architecture through the ages, and a dictionary of architecture.  I read them, but I'm not reading them end to end like a regular book, so I'm not technically counting them.

That reminds me, I need to pick up that Acorn book again.  I got sidetracked by other stuff.

So many books, so little time ...

Research

My DH is coming home today after a long absence.  I love the work he does, but I love having him home more.  The relatively quiet winter spoiled me.  He'll be globetrotting most of the summer, and he'll be away more than not.

At least I'll be able to go with him for some of it.  We're going to Worldcon, barring unforeseen circumstances.  I hope we'll see some of you there!

In writing:  I'm researching architecture.  Not just for Masks, but for a bunch of books.  The books I own on it (I hadn't gotten around to reading them yet) are fascinating and easy to understand, at least so far.  I'll review them when I'm done.  

Anyway, research is a dangerous thing.  It can halt a project dead.  Research and writing have to balance in favor of the primary task.  In other words, the writing still has to go onward somehow.  I try to get the 'short answer' quickly (as in within a couple of hours) so I can move onward, and then in the evenings I read up on the subject so that I can embellish the section later.  After all, though I love setting-heavy books, my main focus is on the human characters and what they're doing.  Unless one of them is an architect, I shouldn't have to know everything there is about architecture of my period (or fantasy setting) in order to complete a paragraph.  

There's always a chance that my research will lead me to changing whole aspects of the book, but I don't think it's wise to stop the writing process just because there's a chance (not a certainty!) I might have to rewrite some stuff (or all of it).  If the book really was that dependent on research, I should have done it up front ... and while I'm researching that book, I can be working on another.  I also have to entertain the possibility that if research may change a book that much, there might be a vision issue.  If the book relies too much on things that I don't know, then how do I know my overall concept is sound?  It would be like trying to write a book centered around a dinosaur planet without knowing much about dinosaurs.  If I knew what I needed to know about dinosaurs in the first place, would I really choose to write my book around a dinosaur planet?  Maybe it would be a better idea to write a book set on a world with dinosaur-like creatures, but they're alien enough that they behave like I imagine them to behave.  As our adventurers get into more and more trouble, maybe scientists back home trying to help them keep throwing their hands up in despair because as far as they knew, dinosaurs aren't like that.  And it could work as a story.  Isn't the story the point of writing in the first place?

Some books really do require research, and I wouldn't dare write them without.  But if all my book concepts require massive amounts of research, then I should ask myself if I'm ready to write books.  Maybe writing short stories in the meantime will keep my writing skills honed until I'm ready.  But isn't that a trap?  Maybe I'm not ready to write those stories either because they need research ... and I'd end up being a researcher, not a writer.  

There's nothing wrong with being a researcher.  I could put up an amazing website about my research.  I might even be able to make money through a donation button, or through selling articles as my knowledge grows.  And then I'll really be writing, though maybe not the way I'd planned.

It's all good.  Writing.  Research.  Reading.  Lots of reading.  I just have to make sure that I'm doing my primary thing, um, primarily.  Because, in theory anyway, that's the thing I really want to do.  Right?

Will Editors Finally Get the Recognition They Deserve?

So tired ....

The chicken coop isn't done yet, but I'm hoping that we'll put the finishing touches on it today.

In writing news, this article about the much-hoped-for (by newbie writers) demise of the traditional publishing has been making the rounds.  I agree with it strongly.  As a writer that also reads, and has read my share of manuscripts by writers just starting out in the craft, I weep at the thought of having little or no gatekeeper available when I visit a bookseller, be it online or in a bookstore.  If nothing else, I'm hoping that bookstores will continue to insist that the books that line their shelves come through the traditional publishing houses.  

Don't get me wrong.  I have a bunch of writer friends who are excellent authors, and I would read their stuff regardless of how it's published.  The key is, I know about them and their writing already.  If I had to wade through some of the dreck that's out there to find them?  Sorry, I have no intention of becoming a slush reader.  

I think that the article did miss one thing, though.  I believe out of this growing mess, there will be small e-publishers that will arise and truly shine.  There are folks out there that were born to be editors, but never went to Brown University and/or didn't want to move to New York to work their way up through the ranks.  As readers discover these small publishers with editorial talent, the readership and publishers will grow together.  

I think one of the really great things that will come out of this is that readers might finally become aware of the wonderful unsung heroes in this biz--the editor.  I wouldn't want that job.  I really wouldn't want that job.  Seriously.  I would burn out on reading incredibly fast, and might never want to read outside my job ever again.  Except maybe I'd read non-fiction if I was a fiction editor, and visa versa.  Anyway, here's a big thank you from a reader to the editors out there.  Thanks for throwing yourself on that grenade so that I can be reasonably assured of a reasonable read when I pick up a book or a magazine that perks my interest.

Now, back to the chicken coop projekt.  Ugh.

Radcon 2010

Here I am at Radcon. I have a schedule, and it's a very nice schedule ... I just don't have it in hand right now. I'll most likely comment on some of the panels I'm on and the panels I manage to go to sometime after this weekend, as I have in the past, rather than at-con. In the past I've been too busy to post while I'm here, and I doubt it'll be any different this year.

So far I've run into lots of great people and I'm only half out of my mind trying to prepare for my panels.

I'll be reading with Broad Universe, so if you want to hear my work and you're in the area, pop on in. I believe we're reading at 2pm on Saturday. I probably won't read the one that makes people cry, although that one will be my default if I panic at the last minute.

Now for some last-minute research.

BTW, first thing in the morning I'll be going on another kewl Hanford tour. This tour will cover the tissue repository. Important scientific stuff. I suspect I'll come away with lots of info and a few story ideas. The very existence of this facility is a story unto itself. I don't want to get too far into its purpose until I've had the tour, but I will pose this: what should a society do with radioactive materials when they're of human origin?

The Short Form

I've been working on my novel 90% of the time lately. Much as I love that, I do miss working on short stories. I'll probably try to put one together here soon.

Short stories are tough. In a lot of ways, I think they're tougher than novels. Once I've got a novel idea, I just sit down and work on it every day. Sometimes I'll get stuck in the muddle in the middle, or I'll have to rework something from the beginning, but for the most part, when I get up in the morning I know what I have to do, how to do it, and then, well, I do it.

Short stories involve some of the same processes as novels, but the focus shifts to the idea of the thing, and a kind of super-efficiency or super-clarity that grants substance inside of a very short space. In novels I can develop tangents, work on deep themes, have characters of all kinds march on and off stage, and build a complex world in which the happenings combine into something that makes sense of life.

It's much harder for me to make sense of life in a few scenes. It's harder for me to convey the richness of human (or inhuman) experience and how that ties into the world (or universe) around us when I've got only so many pages to do it in.

My DH checked out some P.G. Wodehouse for me, so that's been my main reading material between fits of writing. Those fun stories may seem trite and something just about anyone could write with two minutes to think about characterization and setting, but I know better. It's the deceptively simple things that people dismiss until they actually sit down and attempt to do it. Wodehouse, to me, seems like the word-master equivalent of a sumi-e painter who makes his living writing comics for the funny pages. Seemingly simple, but actually extremely difficult. These are the kinds of things that people readily poo poo as trivial. And so they may, and should if it's not their thing, but no one should fool themselves into believing that it's easy.

There are folks that find the short story form easy. I'm not one of them. I have the deepest admiration for people who've mastered the short form. I don't know that I've mastered the book length, but it's a heckuva lot easier for me! I'll keep working on those short stories, though. There's something compelling about being able to say a lot in a little bit of space. I think once I've broken past some of my weaknesses in the short form, the novel length stuff will improve too.

It's all good, worthwhile-to-work-at stuff.

And if you haven't read P.G. Wodehouse, give him a try.

Winter Thirst

New Year's Day coming up, with a whole new year to look forward to ahead. It's not quite time for a recap, but I do look back with a grin on my face on my DH's homecoming, Ireland, high school plays, the master's class, and other fun stuff. The grim stuff is there too. It all mingles together into the potluck stew of life.

My stress level is really high. I'm hoping this will give me lots of creative energy to draw from. Yeah yeah, I know, stress usually kills the muse, but I killed my muse and ate her a long time ago, so I'm on my own anyway.

Stress has given me fun dreams, including one last night where I'd started taking fencing lessons from my kids' instructor in a huge underground gym that was partially sectioned off for tennis. In the dream I was super flexible. I could do full splits and lay my body flat against my leg at the same time. I woke up all inspired to work out rather than write, but I'll manage to manipulate that energy over to writing somehow.

The icy wind pushes cars around on the freeways and the wind chill is pretty interesting. We're dried out, parched even, and what little standing moisture we have near our house is frozen solid. It's easy to forget to drink water in this weather--the sensation of thirst is suppressed--so I plan on keeping water and tea near at hand while I write.

Ice, a fire in the hearth, tea and big dogs curled up in the living room. Sounds like a cozy winter. The only thing that keeps it from being a completely classic moment is that I'm working on a laptop rather than being curled around a book right now. Later. I've got some books I'm really looking forward to: Oxygen, The Forever War, Machete Season, The Company, some history books relevant to the Masks time period, and Chosen by a Horse which promises to tug on all the heartstrings I've got attached to mustangs. Reading and writing. It's a good life, but if I had a holiday wish, I'd wish for gainful employment that has health insurance benefits. Well, I take that back. I'd wish for a great future of health and happiness for my kids. I can handle a challenge or three.

Or maybe they could stand for challenges too.

I don't know! Fine. No wishes. It's too complicated. Have a Happy New Year. I'll see y'all on the other side of December 31, 11:59, if not sooner.

The Ticking Clock

I've been doing a lot more reading than usual lately, and I found a standout.  I haven't finished it yet, but the depth of setting in Burke's In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead had me sitting up and taking notice.  In some places the setting overbalances the other book elements, but I didn't mind.  I ate it up.  I can't say too much more about this, because this is for a class and I'm not supposed to discuss it in advance.  I can't recommend it until I've read the ending, either.  This is just a note, and a heads up to setting junkies.

In other news, I applied for a secretarial/admin-type job today, and tomorrow I'm going to take a typing test.  I don't think I've taken a typing test since high school!  I'm 99% sure I can easily pass this test, because the wpm requirement is relatively low and I'm allowed 5 errors in five minutes.  Alas, I have an Achilles heel when it comes to tests.  If it's a timed test, I get really nervous.  An hour in which to do an essay, no problem.  I'm your gal.  A class period to complete an exam that the instructor calculated would take the whole class for an average student, piece of cake.  If I hurry and I know my material, I'll have time to do the extra credit question.  Given twice the number of math problems a genius could handle in two minutes and allowed one minute to go as far as I can ... I tend to panic.  I haven't frozen before, but my performance plummets and I get the shakes.  I hate tight time limits and pre-ordained 'failure' (a guarantee that it's impossible to complete the test.)  There's only one thing I despise more in a test--a race against others.  Fortunately, I'm not in a race against others.  I don't have to be the fastest typist to impress a potential boss.

To prepare, I've been practicing on a typing program I originally got for the kids to teach typing, and I've been going over lessons that cover my weak spots, namely, left-handed capital letters (I often mash the shift key at an odd angle with my right hand, producing lots of errors including non-capitalization and double capital letters) and double quotes (I have a lazy right pinkie, same problem as capital letters that land on my left hand.)  Fortunately my typing speed is enough above the minimum that only complete and utter adrenaline shakes will cause me to fail.  Unfortunately, complete and utter adrenaline shakes are not out of the question.

Wish me luck!

Norwescon 2009 Pt. 2

I have to lead this in with the comment that by now my recollection of Norwescon is pretty hazy.  I'm in the throws of prepping to travel to a women's retreat and Ireland (squee!!) and that's where my focus has been.

Saturday morning I got up waaay too early for Cat Rambo's writer's breakfast, and I sat right in the middle so I could listen to multiple conversations if I wanted.  Great stuff.  Then at 10am I met with Sonia Lyris and had second breakfast with her.  We fired up Skype after a bit and my DH was able to attend breakfast as well.  Steve Barnes dropped by but he couldn't stay--he was waiting to meet someone else.  And Richard Threadgill also popped in.  So that turned into the three hour breakfast, not nearly as long as the five hour dinner Friday night, but just as fun.  Lunch was not necessary under the circumstances.  Richard nicely helped me pick out which story to read at the Broad Universe reading for later that night.  I ended up not reading Inner Skull, but my hard SF paranormal "Advances in Science."

I had my picture taken with Darth Vader and a couple of stormtroopers (sorry, it's not digital and I still don't have my scanbed working!) then crashed the Fairwood Writers social.  Not sure crashed is the right term since I'm pretty sure I was welcome, but I'm not a Fairwood Writer and I haven't been part of their workshop, so ... anyway, all the usual suspects were there, and it was fun to be an atypical suspect, since I'm not a regular at Seattle cons.  If they didn't travel to Portland, I might have been a curiosity, but I'm slightly too familiar to be that.  

I dashed off to lurk in the hall outside a panel so that I could catch up at last to Mary Rosenblum, and we went to the Green Room to talk.  I know pros have kids too, but you know, it was not relaxing to have kids running around screaming in there.  Not sure what the best thing to do in that situation would have been except to grin and bear it, so that's what I did.  I got to meet one of Mary's students from Longridge, which was cool, and we got to chat with a ballista maker (he had a ballista with him, btw) and talked about potato guns and fun things to launch.  I also met Steve Barnes again, and we talked about life and death and physicality.  One of these days I'm going to have to get over to Mary's for a drowning of sorrows, and get a chance to talk much longer to Steve about Stuff.

I went to grab something to eat and saw Cat Rambo and her husband.  I pounced and we got to talk about animals and stuff.  (hand waving something else I did that I can't remember) and then I went to Talebones Live!  If you can make it to one, please do.   At the end the sad announcement came--Ken Rand would no longer be with us, as he had requested the machines that sustained his life for so long be switched off.  (If you know Ken, he and his family have requested privacy at this time, so feel free to spread the word, but don't try to contact them.)  One of the first books I had recommended to me as a new writer was Ken's 10% solution.  I've recommended it countless times myself, and loaned out copies, and when the copies don't come back (as is sometimes the case) I just get a new one.  This chapbook is worth every writer's time.  Ken, many blessings upon you and yours.

Sobered, I went to the reading.  We had some folks turn up that were not Broads, and I think the stories were all great, but then again I was adrenalized.  Not as badly as the first time I read.  I practiced some breathing techniques, and imagined that I was teaching rather than reading.  How weird is that?  I'm much more comfortable showing people stuff they don't know how to do than reading something I wrote.  My brain can be very weird and poopyheaded sometimes.  After, some of us had some absenthe and navan.  I wanted to hit the Reno Worldcon party and the dance before the Radcon party, so our group temporarily split up.  This caused me to miss hanging out with Lizzy Shannon--drat!  Anyway, I must have been dehydrated or something.  I was at the dance all of fifteen minutes when I suddenly felt very ill.  I drank lots of water and went to the room for some quiet and fresh, cool air.  Some balcony time and quiet reading fixed me up famously.  

The others showed up, so we headed down to one of the best dances I've ever been to that didn't include my DH.  The fact that they mostly played retro didn't dampen things too much, though I would have preferred more techno.  Dan shouting that he was with the two hottest chicks at the con, and dancing with an amazing gentleman with a powdered face, elegant clothes and a crystal cane were highlights.  We closed it down and helped wind up the hundreds of feet of electrical and sound cords before calling it quits.

Sunday we said goodbye to folks and parted ways with Mary Hobson after reiterating that she was the most awesome roommate a gal could ever have.  C.S. and I had breakfast, and then we drove home.  I managed to make it to my mom's birthday party without falling asleep at the wheel coming or going, and thus concluded a stellar weekend.

More stellar journeys to come.  Stay tuned, but be warned--posts will be very sporadic.  

Reading like there's no tomorrow

I'm turning into a reading machine.  I take the reading I do for a certain award pretty seriously, and put effort into that, but now that I also have reading to do for a writing course, and I have a bunch of research reading to do, I'm under a lot of reading pressure.  

This is a good thing.

When I'm under pressure I accomplish a ton more than I otherwise would.  Yes, I lose sleep and I don't blog as much and I don't write as much, but all that effort poured into the goals helps.  The writing time I have is more precious, therefore I tend to focus more.  I tend to multi-task more.  Laundry?  On a busy day it goes in first thing in the morning.  Breakfast?  I can eat that at the dining table and read.  Bath?  I can read in the bathtub.  Need to go out on an errand?  I can go work out on the same trip and get some exercise in so that my metabolism peps up and I can work faster.

I can't be like this all the time, but for now it's working.  Eventually I'll return to my steady plod and relax a bit, at least until the next time-pressure event arrives.  Those show up on a regular basis.  Life is anything but dull.  As far as getting anything specific done (like artwork for a book cover, ahem) I will get it done ... in my so-called copious spare time.

First Readers

The thing about first readers we initially discussed is that there are actually two kinds:  the 'slush' readers for agents and editors, and the readers that writers employ to get feedback on their work.  Both got chatted about during the panel.  I'll just hit the key points.

Slush first readers:

*They're not the enemy.  Actually, they desperately want to read something good.

*Most of the stuff out there is not good.

*If you're a new writer, starting out slow won't work.  That's a luxury for established readers.  Hook hook hook! 

*Like agents and editors, slush readers can tell in a short time if they'll like something.  Sometimes within the first sentence.

*They have criteria to meet before they hand a manuscript to the editor or agent.  Don't send stuff that doesn't fit the guidelines--even if they like it, the first reader can't/won't send it up.

*They work fast.  In some ways it can be a kindness to have your manuscript rejected quickly by a first reader than to wait on the much-busier-agent-or-editor's desk for months, only to get rejected then.

Beta/first readers for writers:

*There are many kinds.  It's good to have a variety.  

*Fan/audience readers usually can give only a touchy-feely sense of the book, but this is good.  Fan readers are much less critical and much less apt to suggest story changes (making it theirs rather than yours) or spend huge amounts of time on inappropriate line edits.

*Skilled/writer/editor readers can give great technical critiques and can usually not only tell you when something isn't working but why.  Skilled first readers are much less likely to miss, give you a chance to redeem yourself or ignore a flat area that editors and agents will glitch on.

*Technical/educated readers can fact check for you or look at continuity.  These are often good at spotting logic problems, contradictions and missing pieces as well as many plot issues that other readers may miss.  They may also be scientists, historians or others with special knowledge in a particular area who will keep you from making obvious mistakes.

I suggested that it might not be the best idea to repeatedly send the same material to the same readers over and over again.  Yeah, there's the issue of burnout, but more importantly a writer needs to learn to rely on their own skills.  I think when writers are starting out, repeated feedback can be extremely helpful, but as they progress, one pass should do, unless there are radical changes made that change the story enough that it's practically a new story.  There wasn't noticeable (to me, oops) disagreement with this.  An exception of course would be in a cowriting or other close working relationship that is writer/writer, writer/editor, or writer/agent or equivalent.  For example, my DH and I sometimes reread each other's stuff, helping with the polishing process.  My two critique groups would kill me if I tried to do that!

We talked about how to find readers toward the end.  I think one of the more important options was to connect with pros.  Sometimes writers will make enough of an impression (or just catch a pro on a good day) that the pro will offer to look at a story or help with an aspect of it.  Don't let such an offer pass you by.  They're rare.  Follow up immediately.  Also, it's a good idea to take classes and connect with other writers that way.  Regardless of what you get out of the class, you'll meet like-minded folks, and that would be a great way to start a critique group.

Do you have first readers?  How did you find them?

Readings to go to at OryCon

Sometimes I worry that attending readings will fall so far out of fashion that people will stop going.  And that's a real shame, because some of the times I've felt the most entertained, and intrigued, and involved have been when I've been listening to an author read his or her work or a musician performing an original piece.  I don't need a bunch of people with me to get that experience--small is okay.  But if I'm alone in the room with the author, although I get the treat of discussing the passage with that author afterward (and sometimes sharing a drink at the bar later on) it's unlikely that the author will feel motivated to set up a reading the following year, facing a single person or zero turnout.  And if this happens across the board, programming will stop programming readings (though this is less likely--famous authors always will draw audiences to their readings, and cons are usually willing to grant even total unknowns their half hour and a room to read in.)  

I'm not big on promoting something that simply doesn't interest people anymore.  If it's no longer of value, then alas, it must fade.  But I do think that maybe people just don't know what they're missing.

And so, even though it's self-serving because I'm part of this group, I invite everyone to come to the Broad Universe Rapid Fire Reading at OryCon.  I also want to encourage folks who come to the convention to make time for readings, and not only the big, well-known authors or authors personally known to them.  Try picking an author you don't know.  Look through the bios and see who piques your interest.  Maybe it's their pic, or the titles of things they've written, their day job, or the voice in the short bio that catches your interest.  Maybe it's just that there's a bit of rare free time and a half hour in a room with someone reading to you sounds just barely better than taking a nap after an exhausting morning, or hanging out until the bar opens, or perusing the dealer's room for the third time.  I should warn you, though.  Live performances can become addicting, as anyone who gets drawn into theatrical performances or live musical events can tell you.  At least most readings, including those at OryCon, are free.  If you can't make it to OryCon, check out your local library or bookstores.  You'd be amazed at how many readings happen out there every day.  It's worth it.  Just step out of routine for a bit, and listen.